


All That Comes After

by 11_Gadget_27



Series: Master's Pet [2]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, M/M, Mentions of Slavery, Mentions of past abuse, Mentions of trafficking, Turian, mentions of character death/murder, mentions of past rape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-19 03:28:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19348582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/11_Gadget_27/pseuds/11_Gadget_27
Summary: A short follow-up to Master's Pet, should definitely read that first.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo I debated with the idea a while and decided there should be something of a follow-up to Master’s Pet. As of right this moment, I have no idea how long it will be or how long it will take me to write. Which in turn means I don’t know how often I’ll post chapters. But, truth be told, I don’t see this one being as long when I just want to tie up some loose ends and get a last few scenarios out of my head.

Taetis had always thought he was big for a turian, tall and wide even if he’d been told he hadn’t quite finished growing yet. But General Sativum… he was big. Huge even. Probably closer to eight feet tall than seven, his shoulders and chest so wide that Taetis didn’t think he could get his arms around them even if he had an occasion to. The General was a lot older too, maybe touching the mid half of his sixties but Taetis bet he was still in perfect shape. He still moved like a soldier at the top of his game, posture perfect, every gesture concise and with meaning. He sat in the chair opposite the table between them and Taetis felt very small for the first time in many years.

 It didn’t help that the General wore an almost blank expression, mandibles held just so, his dark green gaze like a laser pinning Taetis to his seat. He wanted to fidget, to adjust the clothing he’d been given or scratch his fringe, but he didn’t dare to. Not until the General moved or spoke first. Taetis wasn’t used to the silence in another turian, not after the past weeks and months with Delion who spoke with only his second voice but never seemed to shut up anymore. 

“I’m going to record our talk for the record,” The General said, moving finally to set his omnitool on the table between them. He identified himself for the recording, name and rank and all that stuff. “State your name, son.”

His mandibles flicked and he sat forward in the seat a little. “I’m-” He cleared his throat. “I’m called Taetis, sir.”

The Genera had taken out a pen and paper too, and he wrote that down. “You can relax,” He said softly. “I’m not aware if anyone has told you yet, but neither you nor the boy with you are in any kind of trouble.”

“That’s… that’s good to know, sir.” Taetis said.

The General leaned back a little in his chair. “Here’s how this works, Taetis, I’m going to ask you details about how you came to Invictus, the events leading up to your arrival with the boy, that sort of thing. I’ll also be asking about you in broad terms, what kind of man you are. And then I’ll decide if you pose a danger to the general public or that boy. I expect complete truth from you, no exceptions and no omissions. Do you understand?”

Taetis nodded his head, his eyes darting down to the omnitool on the table. “Yes, sir, I understand. But….but if you do think I pose a danger, what… what happens then?”

Those dark green eyes took his measure. “If I decide you pose a danger in any capacity, you will be detained.”

He looked down at his hands. “…I’ve done bad things for my masters, General, but I don’t want to do those things anymore. And I never enjoyed doing them but I did them because my masters told me to.”

“I’m aware the damages masters can wreak on their pets.” The General said softly.

Taetis took a deep breath. “I was my first master’s pet. He made me into a play thing for his soldiers and staff. I was younger than Delion before he got bored of me and sold me to Renok, my last master.”

“Renok is the master you killed?” Sativum asked him.

“Yes, sir.” He said. “He bought me ten or eleven years ago, I think-”

“And you’re how old?”

“The doctor you had see me thinks I’m twenty-four.” Taetis murmured, he didn’t want to think about how young he’d been, how young he still was… “Renok bought me and he found out I was biotic. He paid for my implant and the surgery. He raised me up from a pet. He made me a guard. He educated me, taught me how to run his people…”

“Would you say he valued you?” The Genera asked.

Taetis was quiet a moment. “No, sir. I would say he invested in me, but not that he placed any value on my person.” He rubbed at the bandaging under his shirt where master had stabbed him. It still hurt. “He didn’t want me for a pet once I started growing, but sometimes he let me play with his. There were a lot, General. Men, mostly, but women too, young like Delion. He called them special pets because…because he was their first buyer. He used them and then we he got bored…. I buried a lot of pets, General.”

The General was still leaning back in his chair, regarding him with that almost blank expression, or maybe there was something there and Taetis just couldn’t read him. “Were you responsible for their deaths?” He asked simply.

Taetis felt his heart start to beat faster. Something in the General’s tone of voice, some note of disapproval…. “Sometimes,” He answered honestly. “I would get a syringe from our medic. The pets fell asleep and didn’t wake up. When master…. when master disposed of them, when he got bored, he gave them to the soldiers to use until there was nothing left. Or he fed them to the varren.”

The General breathed out sharply through his nose and Taetis lowered his head in shame. What more could he say about that? His master’s prerogative or not, it had still been horrible and he’d dreaded the end of each new pet. He tried to put that into words for the General, stopping and starting as he tried to find the right ones to explain. Sativum seemed to understand and bade him continue.

“Renok bought Delion four months ago,” He started again. “He liked him because he couldn’t speak and because he was small. I know he liked how Delion looked. The boy was… he was so scared at first, master couldn’t hear his subvocals but I could, and he was scared. Master had me tie him to his bed that first day and I told the boy not to resist him, to obey him always. There was just…. I didn’t want to bury him too, General.”

“Delion, I take it, means a lot to you.” It wasn’t a question but a statement and Taetis nodded his head.

“He didn’t at first, but now….” He ran his hands over his fringe. “He shouldn’t have been bought as a pet, I saw that as I got to know him, but I kept telling him to obey and be good. And he was. But master still got bored of him. Only this time… this time he gave Delion to me. A reward, Renok told me. Delion was so confused, he thought I was his master now, he thought that was how it worked and I tried to… I tried to teach him otherwise, but it was fun, General. I’m sorry but it was fun to pretend he was my pet. And while I pretended, I did my best to take care of him, I did.” 

“You played a dangerous game with a master’s pet,” The General said softly. “Obviously Renok found out what you were doing.”

“I told him,” Taetis said just as softly. “I thought that I should, I wanted his advice. He told me to make Delion a toy, to pass him around, and I didn’t want to. I told master I would fix his pet, but I had no intention of doing so.”

“And why not, Taetis?” The General challenged him. “All the time and effort you master put into you and you were willing to throw it away for a pet?”

He flared his mandibles. “Because Delion’s special.” He said hotly. “And I wasn’t going to make him a toy just to please master when I knew I could take care of him.”

The General tapped his pen on the table, one brow raised. “Alright,” He gave. “So what did you do, Taetis? Things apparently came to a head. Delion was injured, so were you, and your master was killed.” 

Taetis let his mandibles flutter with the rush of memory and feeling. “Delion and I got close,” He began. “I was enjoying taking care of him, being with him, being his master… And then I lost my head to it. I bit him in the middle of… I’m sure you can imagine what. I’ve never bitten anyone before, General, I did it wrong and I hurt him. I took him to our doctors and they saved him. Then… then I went to master to tell him what I’d done.” 

“And Renok, I take it, was displeased?”

“Not… not at first. He was indifferent, reminded me that I was supposed to ask before I… before I got rid of Delion. When I told him the boy wasn’t dead, then he got displeased.” Taetis lowered his head, looking down at his hands. “He told me I shouldn’t have wasted medigel on him, that I broke a toy and to throw it away. He called the doctors to tell them to put Delion to sleep and I… I lost it. I didn’t want him to do that. I didn’t want Delion to die because I made a mistake.”

The General was watching him, pinning him with those dark green eyes again and suddenly it was hard to breathe. “What did you do, Taetis?” He asked.

“I killed my master,” Taetis said in a whisper, his tones like it was the worst secret he’d ever had to share. “I remember… I remember knocking the omnitool out of his hand and that he stabbed me and then he hit me over and over and over and somewhere in the middle of it all I stopped him and I killed him.”

“What did killing him make you feel like?”

“What did it  _feel_  like?” Taetis repeated, staring back at him, his mandibles hanging loose and his voice a lost keen. “It felt horrible, General. It felt like… it felt like taking a cosmic law and snapping it in half, like spitting in the face of a Spirit. It felt like it wasn’t me, like I was watching myself do it but not actively aware I was. But it felt like me, too. Like… like I don’t know how to explain it. Then… then it felt like nothing. He was lying there and he was nothing. He was just as dead as every pet he’d made me put to sleep and he was nothing and it felt good. It felt like… like release.”

The General stared at him a long moment before he wrote that down. Taetis fidgeted. He’d wanted the truth but had all that been bad to say? Had it been wrong? He had no way of knowing. Taetis ran his hands over his fringe again and again.

“Can I see Delion?” He asked as the General wrote and the silence stretched on and on. “I’d really like to see him.”

“He’s being examined by the doctors now,” The General said. “But maybe later. After I’ve spoken to him.”

Taetis nodded his head. “Will you… I know I probably don’t have any standing to ask from, but will you be kind to him? And tell him I hope he’s okay.”

Sativum looked up at him again, his expression still unreadable. “I will.” He said and Taetis believed he would. “But for the moment, you and I have a lot more to talk about.”

“Yes, sir, I think we do.” 


	2. Chapter 2

Delion couldn’t sit still, tugging at the blanket someone had wrapped around his shoulders to help him stay warm, wiggling in the seat, poking the bandage on his neck… He kept looking up- and up- at the General as he set up the camera and the recorder.

“Let the record state that Delion has no use of his primary vocal cords and will be answering questions with his secondary,” The General said to the camera and the recorder after having adjusted them both accordingly. “Whenever you’re ready.”

 _Where should I start, General sir?_  The boy chirped, looking at the camera again.  _Do I face it or you?_

“You face me, son,” He said. “And start wherever you’d like.”

 _Okay,_ he trilled.  _Um… my name’s Delion and I’m not a pet. I mean, I was a pet for a little while, but I didn’t want to be. My momma was a drell and she bought me from somewhere I don’t know, and I guess she wasn’t my real momma but she let me call her momma. I had a brother, his name was Kaolin and he was drell too but he was my brother. He got really sick and then… then he died._

“How long were you with them?” The General asked him.

 _A long time,_ Delion chirped _. She had Kaolin and he was lonely so she found me to play with him and we grew up together._ The boy patted either side of his head. _They had their ears fixed so they could hear me._

“Most masters and mistresses wouldn’t go through so much effort,” The huge turian commented.

_That’s what Taetis said too, but she loved me like I was hers and Kaolin was supposed to play with me and how do you make friends if you can’t talk?_

The General’s mandibles twitched an almost smile. “You said he got sick?”

Delion’s mandibles fell to hanging. _He coughed all the time and it just kept getting worse. We couldn’t play anymore. Momma was sad. Then one morning he wasn’t coughing anymore, he wasn’t doing anything anymore. Momma was sad and I couldn’t make her happy anymore. I was sad too._

He wrote that down, Delion tilted his head to watch the words form on the paper. “When did that happen?”

_I think… six months ago? Not long. It doesn’t feel long ago. But I know Master Renok had me for months._

“How did you end up with Renok?”

 _Momma…._ His tones dropped very low.  _She was sad. She didn’t want me anymore. She missed Kaolin. And Renok came to visit and he saw me and she said I had to leave. She didn’t even let me take any of my things, my toys or clothes or anything. All I really wanted was a picture of my brother._

 _“_ You’re a little old for toys, aren’t you, Delion?”

 _I know,_ He trilled.  _But I’d have still liked to have them. Just anything Kaolin and I shared so I could always remember him. I thought for a little bit that I was gonna get to go home, that momma was just making me leave for a little while. But I got in the shuttle with Master Renok and he told me about where he was taking me._

The General wrote on the paper a little more but Delion didn’t try to read it this time. “What did he tell you?”

Delion sniffed, rubbing at his fringe with both hands.  _He told me I wasn’t a child anymore. That I was a pretty pet and pretty pets earned their meals. I didn’t know what he meant ‘til we got to his compound. I tried to tell him I didn’t understand but he didn’t have his ears fixed like momma and Kaolin and he wouldn’t let me write him any notes._

“And when you got to the compound?” General Sativum asked him softly. 

 _When I got to the compound,_ He took a deep breath.  _Taetis was there waiting. He was big and scary those first few days, you know? And I knew he could hear me and I kept sounding how scared I was but he just ignored me ‘til Master Renok told him I was a pet and that he could have me when he- Master Renok, I mean- was done with me. And Taetis said he would like that but it didn’t really sound that way._

The General looked at him curiously. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”

_I mean that Master Renok told Taetis he could um… fuck me, and Taetis said he would like to but his tones said he didn’t really care. And… and that was how I figured out maybe Taetis could be my friend._

“Did Taetis… have you?” The General asked a little awkwardly.

 _Only after Master Renok made him,_ The boy chirped _. And he was a lot nicer to me. He didn’t tie me up or hurt me. I actually… I actually had lot of fun with Taetis. He made it fun. I like when he’s with me. Master Renok just… just hurt me. He’d tie me up and hurt me over and over. Taetis doesn’t do that._

 _“_ He almost tore your throat out.” General Sativum pointed out.

 _He didn’t mean to!_ Delion yelled, his hands on the edge of the table _. He didn’t mean to. He was always so careful and he let me call him master and he was my master and he took care of me. And I took care of him too! I brought him food and I cleaned his room and I made him a blanket and we shared the blanket when we slept together. He pets my fringe over and over and over and it makes me feel so safe. He didn’t mean to hurt me, General sir, you have to believe me._

The General nodded after a moment. “Alright,” He said. “Taetis treats you well, you’ve made that clear.”

 _He’s really nice, General sir, I wish you could see that._ The boy trilled, sitting back down, he had to pull the blanket around himself again.  _I don’t think he liked how Master Renok treated me, that he hit me sometimes. Taetis was always really gentle when he cleaned me up, and he’d talk to me not at me like Master Renok.  When can I see him?_

The General tilted his head a little. “You’ll see him soon, I’m sure.” He said. “We need to talk about how you escaped.”

Delion sighed, he just wanted to see Taetis, he felt better when his master was there.  _I’m not really sure how we escape. I couldn’t stand up or anything, Taetis carried me. He was really hurt but he carried me. He said Master Renok was dead and we had to leave while we could. So he stole a bunch of doctor stuff, like bandages and medigel and stuff and then he carried me to the shuttle. I fell asleep, I was really tired, and when I woke up he was talking to someone asking if we could land and now we’re here._

“Now you;re here,” General Sativum flicked his mandibles. “You’re not scared of Taetis, are you?”

Delion shook his head.  _No, no, he’s good to me. He’s kind, I know he doesn’t think he is, but he was kind to me, and I like him lots and I really want to see him, General sir, please?_

The General studied him for a long time in silence before he inclined his head. “I need to make a few arrangements,” He said. “And then you can see Taetis.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter ties directly into my rp verse over on tumblr. It's a long verse between myself and Turianspeedjunkie. You can find it here if you want: https://crassussativum.tumblr.com/post/170686260094/favoredau-thread-list

General Sativum watched the two young men hug when he let them reunite, how Taetis swept Delion up in his arms and just held him close. How the pale boy clung to him and chittered so fast he couldn’t catch the words of the subvocals, only the happy and relieved tones. And then, as quickly as they’d embraced, Taetis was putting the boy back down on his feet and stepping a little away, his mandibles fluttering awkwardly at the witness.

“What happens now?” He asked solemnly.

Sativum took a seat at the table and gestured for them to do the same. Taetis sat at once, Delion was a little slower and then he spent time scooting his chair as close to Taetis’ as he could. It was a little like watching a reverse image, like a memory playing over but some things just a little different. Sativum had to fight not to smile.

“Before either of you were born, I was still serving with the Blackwatch. I was sent to the Terminus to retrieve a missing soldier and kidnapped boy.” He told them. Delion looked at him with curiosity and Taetis with suspicion.  “What I found when I landed was my missing soldier, tortured and near to broken, and a Lord’s young mate who at one point in time had been a kidnapped boy. This boy had done all in his power to keep my soldier and personal friend alive and safe as possible, even at great risk to himself. He was the Lord’s mate, but the Lord treated him like a pretty pet. He had been used and abused but he never let go of the good part of himself.”

Delion glanced once quickly at Taetis and then back to him.

Sativum continued. “When I landed, I told this boy I would take him home, return him to his family, and at first he refused. His master’s people were his family, his master’s pets were his friends and he wouldn’t leave them. It was within my power at the time to tell him he didn’t have to. The boy, I remember, took the hand of the man next to him, a personal guard, and not once did he let go. The guard and he were in love and everyone knew but for the Lord. They had kept it secret and hidden, how they felt for each other, but with the Lord dead, they didn’t have to anymore.”

Taetis cleared his throat. “General? I don’t see the point you’re trying to make here? And you haven’t at all told us what happens next.”

Sativum flicked his mandibles slowly. “But I am.” He said. “Cato and Dius taught me some thirty years ago that a master’s people weren’t necessarily an extension of the master. Though they might do terrible things for him, they weren’t him and as such free from the consequences of his actions. A child isn’t guilty of his father’s crimes. Thus the same with you, Taetis. You followed your master’s orders as any soldier does his commanding officer. You didn’t revel in it, you didn’t take joy from it, you only followed a command. Delion, you’re nothing more than a victim of circumstance. There’s no justice in punishing either of you.”

“So what happens next?” Taetis repeated, his mandibles flaring a little. Sativum could understand his tension and aggravation.

“I made a call last night after we had finished our conversations,” He told them. “Cato’s staying on his homeworld currently, with his mate. Over the years they’ve helped reintegrate people like yourselves, former pets and slaves, and he’d like to help the both of you.”

Delion tilted his head.  _He wants us to come live with him? Why?_

Sativum turned to the boy. “Because Cato was just like you and he knows exactly how it feels to be a pet.” He looked to Taetis. “And how it feels to kill his master.”

Taetis straightened, his mandibles drawing in. “What’s the catch?”

“Only that Cato’s expecting your arrival within the week,” The General said. “And that eventually he’ll expect you two to be able to function on your own. To obey laws and take care of yourselves, but he’ll help you get there in your own time. He won’t treat you like a pet or a soldier or prisoners for that matter, he’ll treat you like normal people.”

Delion looked at Taetis again, his mandibles flared in question.  _He’s good? Like… a good person?_

“Cato’s one of the best people I’ve been lucky enough to meet,” Sativum said with honesty. “You’ll both like him, I’m certain of it.”

The boy turned back to Taetis.  _I wanna go_ , He sounded out softly.  _And I want you to come with me. I don’t wanna leave you._

“I’m not leaving you,” Taetis said, inclining his head a little. “Where you go, I go. I promised I’d take care of you now, didn’t I?”

Delion flicked a smile and hugged him tight. Sativum was smiling a little too. “You’ll both leave in the morning.” 


	4. Chapter 4

The General himself transported them to Parthia. A few shuttles and then a few boats. Taetis hadn’t handled the trips across the water well at all, seasick and miserable the whole way. Delion felt bad for him, petting his fringe and rubbing his back whenever the big turian would let him. And cooing comfortingly. Taetis liked it when he cooed for him and the little smiles he got made Delion feel like he was actually helping. Sativum promised them it wouldn’t take long to get used to travel on boats. Delion hoped that was the case. Parthia from atmo looked like it was almost entirely ocean. It was pretty and the boy already liked it. 

And the house at the top of the cliff? The boy cooed, grabbing at Taetis’ hand and dragging him toward the gate behind the General. He wanted to see more of it! He wanted to look over the edge and see the ocean! But Taetis dug his heels into the driveway and stopped him cold, drawing him back against his chest as a man came down from the house. 

“Cato,” The General greeted warmly, holding his hand out.

“Crassus, it’s so good to see you again.” The dark plated turian said, shaking his hand. “How are Sept and your children?”

“They’re well and they wish you the same.” The General said, turning and gesturing to Delion and Taetis. “We made good time….”

The dark plated turian came closer and now Delion could see the Terminus white striped across his nose and mandibles. He could also see old scarring littering his neck. A burned brand of the number zero on one side and two overlaying bite scars on the other. He scooted just a tad closer to Taetis, melded in under the arm that was put around his shoulders. Taetis was all stiff and tense under his hands and Delion trilled to him.

“Taetis got seasick along the way, I’d wager he’s exhausted.” The General murmured.

“Of course you are,” Cato hummed. “I got terribly seasick the first time I came here, too. A little something to nibble and a moment to lie down will fix you right up. Come on up to the house.”

 _I’m Delion and he’s Taetis._  He pointed in turn, giving Taetis a little shake to get him moving up the path. He was exhausted and hungry too.  

“It’s nice to meet you both,” Cato smiled warmly at them. “I’m Cato and you’ll meet my mate, Dius, inside. He’s getting a room ready for you both. After you’ve rested some, he’ll cook dinner for us all too. Crassus, you’re welcome to stay as long as you like, of course.”

The huge General inclined his head. “Thank you, but I need to catch the next ship back to port.”

Delion watched Cato nod once. “At least say hi to Dius.” He smiled. 

“Of course,” The General said.

Taetis shifted his arm around Delion’s shoulders and headed with him and the others up the path. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the somewhat weak ending but I think that's all there is to tell about Taetis and Delion.


End file.
